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Monthly Archives: February 2017

Share Share Share – Breaking News: Like Like Like —–>>>>> https://www.facebook.com/MetroManilaKilusangPagbabago/ ***** Arrest warrant for Senator De Lima is out. At the Senate, no arrest warrant was served on her. She then decided to go home first to return to the Senate tomorrow. There is still no clarity if she could or would be arrested in her house in spite of her statement that she would be waiting for the arresting party tomorrow at the Senate. Ano po ang say nyo mga ka-DDS?

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Foes rejoice looming De Lima arrest

ABS-CBN News

Feb 23 2017

MANILA – Several political opponents of Senator Leila de Lima on Thursday expressed elation over a local court’s arrest order against the embattled lawmaker.

Presiding Judge Juanita Guerrero of Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 204 signed the order to issue an arrest warrant against De Lima.

Guerrero’s branch handles the case against De Lima, her former driver and former partner Ronnie Dayan, and former Bureau of Corrections officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos.

President Rodrigo Duterte’s chief legal counsel, Salvador Panelo, said the “law of karma has finally caught up with the Senator in terms of being arrested and detained.”

Panelo noted, it was De Lima who “effected the arrest of former President (Gloria Macapagal Arroyo) despite the absence of a criminal charge and a warrant of arrest she will now be arrested and detained pursuant to a warrant of arrest issued by a competent court.”

The presidential legal counsel said De Lima will now be given the chance to refute the allegations against her in court.

“This is where the real battle begins and not in the media that she relishes to use against the President,” he said.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, who has locked horns with De Lima several times in the past, said the arrest order for De Lima was “inevitable,” noting that the senator’s pending motion to quash the charges would not stand in the way of her arrest.

“The motion to quash will not prevent the issuance of warrant of arrest. As long as the court studied the case…the court has no alternative but to issue a warrant,” Aguirre told ANC.

House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, meanwhile, said “justice is working in our beloved nation” with the arrest order for De Lima.

The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, one of those who filed a case against De Lima, said the arrest order for the senator is a “positive development.”

“Slowly but surely, the wheels of justice continue to grind against Senator Leila de Lima. The issuance of a warrant of arrest is but the latest in a series of exceedingly positive developments in the war on drugs…,” VACC legal counsel Ferdinand Topacio said in a statement.

“We are confident that we can count on the continued vigilance and hard work of all our partners in the criminal justice system in order to bring the drug trafficking cases against Sen. De Lima to its final conclusion: her imprisonment for the rest of her life,” Topacio said.

House Committee on Justice Chair Reynaldo Umali, who led a hearing on De Lima’s alleged drug links, said the senator “can ably defend herself, considering her extensive knowledge of the law.”

“On the other hand, the prosecution is now put to task to prove its case. Am hopeful that at the end of the day, the ends of justice is truly served,” he said.

In De Lima’s case under Guerrero’s Branch 204, she is accused of receiving drug money which was delivered by Ragos.

Ragos told a House inquiry in September 2016 he delivered P5 million “quota” for De Lima.

He said they delivered P5 million, which came from convicted drug personality Peter Co, to De Lima’s driver, Ronnie Dayan, in November 2012.

Aside from De Lima’s case before the Branch 204, she is also facing charges before the Muntinlupa court’s Branch 205 under Judge Amelia Fabros-Corpuz. The senator’s co-accused in the cases before this branch is her nephew Jose Adrian Dera.

Gatchalian, Pacquiao doubtful of Lascañas’ claims

By: Maila Ager – Reporter / @MAgerINQ

INQUIRER.net February 20, 2017

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Monday urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to file perjury charges against retired SPO3 Arturo Lascañas for flip-flopping on the alleged existence of the so-called Davao Death Squad.

“The Department of Justice should immediately file perjury charges against retired SPO3 Arthur Lascañas. By admitting to lying under oath before the Senate justice committee during the October 2016 hearings on alleged extrajudicial killings, Lascañas has made a mockery of the solemn proceedings of the Senate. He should be made to pay for the grave disrespect he has shown to this institution,” Gatchalian, who is part of the Senate majority bloc, said in a statement.

Lascañas denied the existence of DDS when he testified under oath before the Senate committee on justice and human rights last year.

But in a press conference this Monday morning, the retired police officer did not only confirm its existence but also accused President Rodrigo Duterte of using the group to kill criminals when the latter was still the mayor of Davao City.

“Personally, I find it hard to believe the incredible alternative facts that Lascañas is now asserting. After all, he was singing a completely different tune just a few months ago,” Gatchalian said.

“Taken all together, it is clear that there are serious doubts about his integrity and the credibility of his new testimony. Unless Lascañas can provide actual concrete evidence to link the President to extrajudicial killings, I would not rely too much on this retired cop’s tall tales,” he added.

Senator Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao, who is also part of the majority bloc, raised doubts about Lascañas’ new allegations.

“Maraming mga oppositor ang Pangulo, baka nakumbinsi sya. Baka nakumbisi sya na mag oppose (The President has many opposers. He may have been convinced to oppose),” Pacquiao said in an interview.

Asked if he believed the former cop’s latest version of his story against Duterte, the senator answered no.

“Paano mo paniniwaalan e nag statement na dito yun e? Tapos nag statement na naman (How could I believe him when he has testified before? Then he has made another statement),” he said.

Asked again if what he meant was Lascañas changed the story in exchange for money, the senator said: “Huwag na nating sabihing money involved, baka nakumbinsi sya ng kabila (Let’s not say that money was involved, he may have been convinced by the opposition).” RAM/rga

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Davao cop says Duterte ordered killings, DDS real

By: Maila Ager – Reporter/ @MAgerINQ

INQUIRER.net February 20, 2017

Retracting his earlier testimony at the Senate, a Davao City policeman who had testified on the Davao Death Squad (DDS) resurfaced on Monday and claimed that President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the killings of criminals in Davao City when he was still its mayor.

SPO3 Arturo Lascañas, who was presented by members of the Free Legal Assistance Group during a press conference in the Senate, claimed that Duterte personally ordered them to kill criminals. He also confirmed the existence of the DDS.

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For Environment Secretary Gina Lopez, it was a “gift of love” to the Filipino people on Valentine’s Day. But for the mining industry, it was a Valentine’s Day massacre.

Lopez on Tuesday ordered the cancellation of 75 mining contracts, stepping up her campaign to stop extraction of resources in sensitive areas after earlier shutting more than half of the Philippines’ operating mines.

The contracts—known as mineral production sharing agreements, or MPSAs—are all in watershed zones, with many in the exploration stage.

They cover projects not yet in production and the latest action by Lopez suggests she will not allow them to be developed further.

“You kill watersheds, you kill life,” Lopez told a news briefing.

“In this country, all open-pit mining operations are being done in a watershed,” she said. “This should never be allowed.”

Sanctity of contracts

The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) said in a statement that with Lopez’s unilateral action, the controversy was “no longer a question of whether a handful of companies really violated environmental laws” but “whether we still uphold the sanctity of contracts.”

Suggesting the affected miners were preparing to take legal action, COMP said the matter had “now become a question of due process” and “fairness and justice that applies to all.”

COMP lawyer Ronald Recidoro said Lopez’s latest action was “absurd” and ignored due process given MPSAs were contracts between the government and the mining companies.

“You cannot just unilaterally cancel contracts, especially if there are no specific grounds,” Recidoro said.

Mining law allowed operations in watersheds, except those declared protected by the government, he added.

The American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines called the cancellation of the mining contracts “irresponsible.”

“We do not understand why these permits—which are only to explore but not to produce—are harming watersheds. Responsible government agencies reviewed the permits, and there are dispute resolution provisions that should be followed,” John D. Forbes, senior adviser to the chamber, said in a text message to the Inquirer.

“Cancellation without due process is as irresponsible as operating a mine without following environmental rules and laws,” he said.

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry agreed. “There should be due process for the mining firms,” its president, George T. Barcelon, said in a phone interview.

But Lopez said it was within her discretion “to decide on the resources of the country.”

Duterte ally

The canceled contracts include the $2-billion Kingking gold and copper project in Davao del Norte province, the holder of which is the group of former Sen. Manuel Villar, an ally of President Duterte.

Five of the scrapped contracts involve the Philex group led by Manny V. Pangilinan, who figured in a verbal tussle with Lopez when she spoke against mining during an industry forum in 2012.

A longtime environmentalist, Lopez ordered the closure of 23 of the Philippines’ 41 mines on Feb. 2 for allegedly damaging watersheds and for siltation of coastal waters and farmlands.

Another five mines were suspended, causing an outcry from the industry.

Protesting Lopez’s action, COMP on Monday filed its opposition to her nomination in the Commission on Appointments.

COMP said Lopez’s orders would affect 1.2 million people.

Legal action

The industry plans to appeal Lopez’s orders to President Duterte, although some miners facing a shutdown of their operations have threatened legal action, with some miners saying on Tuesday they had received a formal closure order from the DENR.

Top Philippine nickel ore producer Nickel Asia Corp. said it would “pursue all legal remedies to overturn [the] order because of due process violations and the absence of any basis” that would warrant a suspension or closure of operations of its unit Hinatuan Mining Corp.

Hinatuan was told that its operation had “impaired the functions of the watershed in the area,” according to a copy of the closure order.

Lopez said on Tuesday that courts could not halt her orders.

“There is no TRO (temporary restraining order) that holds function in the case of environment enforcement,” she said.

“You can’t have a TRO. We are protecting the environment and you can’t stop us from protecting the environment,” she added.

The contracts she ordered canceled on Tuesday include the $5.9-billion Tampakan copper-gold project in South Cotabato province, the biggest stalled mining venture in the Philippines.

“We’re canceling this as a gift of love to the people of Cotabato,” Lopez said.

7 days to comment

The mining companies that would receive cancellation orders would have seven days to comment and “show why we shouldn’t cancel their MPSAs,” she said.

Four of the five Philex contracts canceled on Tuesday were assigned to Philex Gold Philippines Inc. and involved projects in Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte and Negros Occidental provinces.

The fifth MPSA was assigned to Silangan Mindanao Mining Co. Inc. in Surigao del Norte, where Philex hopes to develop a $2-billion copper-gold project that would replace the group’s biggest revenue source—Philex Mining Corp.’s Padcal mine in Benguet province, whose production life is expected to expire in 2022.

The decision to close or suspend existing mine operations followed a months-long audit of the mines, although a government team that reviewed the audit recommended only suspensions and fines. —WITH REPORTS FROM JAYMEE T. GAMIL, BEN O. DE VERA, ROY STEPHEN C. CANIVEL AND THE WIRES

By: Ronnel W. Domingo

Philippine Daily Inquirer

February 15, 2017

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The 2017 Surigao earthquake or 2017 Northeastern Mindanao earthquake, occurred on February 10, 2017 at 10:03 PST, with a moment magnitude of 6.5 and a maximum Intensity VII (Destructive) off the coast of Surigao del Norte in the Philippines. In the past Surigao province experienced a Magnitude 7.2 tremor in 1879 and in 1893.

“Ilang beses na niyang sinasabi na he (President Rodrigo Duterte) wants me locked up in jail to suffer the fate of the former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. That is his words, not mine,” the senator added.

Arroyo, now Pampanga congresswoman, was ordered released from hospital arrest in July last year, after being detained in a Quezon City hospital since 2011 over plunder.

De Lima said the Department of Justice (DOJ) is “rushing” the filing of charges against her before a Regional Trial Court instead of the Ombudsman, which has jurisdiction over elected officials.

She said the DOJ’s strategy is to file charges before a regular court to immediately secure an arrest warrant against her.

Aguirre denies De Lima’s claim

In a statement, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II denied De Lima’s claim that the DOJ was expediting the issuance of an arrest warrant against her.

“It is totally irresponsible of her to announce that the DOJ is expediting the issuance of such warrants. That is a blatant lie and a total misinformation,” Aguirre said.

“Senator De Lima’s motivation for saying such is beyond us. It is a totally irresponsible statement. It implies that we can control or influence our courts. We do not do that, at least in my time as Secretary of Justice. It might be what was done during her time at the DOJ but definitely it will not be done during my time,” he added.

In the meantime, De Lima said she will continue with her legislative work.

“Siyempre po. Hintayin ko na lang po ‘yun,” she said.

By KATHRINA CHARMAINE ALVAREZ, GMA News

With a report from Virgil Lopez/ALG/KG, GMA News

February 13, 2017

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De Lima accuses Arroyo, ‘PDAF senators’ of helping Duterte pin her down

Senator Leila de Lima on Thursday claimed that former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, along with “one or two” senators charged over the pork barrel scam are allegedly using President Rodrigo Duterte to exact their own revenge against her.

In a media briefing at the Senate, De Lima said “powerful” personalities whom she had investigated in the past have allegedly formed political alliances to make her life difficult.

“I’m referring to personalities lalo na the powerful ones na natapakan ko nung ginagawa ko yung trabaho ko as secretary of Justice,” said De Lima, who was the Secretary of the Department of Justice (DOJ) during the previous Aquino administration.

“[These involve] high-profile cases. Some people keep on blaming me until now dun sa pagharang ko nung lalabas sa bansa yung dating Pangulo (Arroyo), diba? And even the President is saying na I will suffer daw the same fate of former President GMA. In other words, I will rot in jail,” De Lima said.

The senator was referring to a 2011 incident when Arroyo, now congresswoman of Pampanga, failed to leave the country after Immigration officials barred her from boarding her flight.

Arroyo failed to leave despite a Supreme Court (SC) order stopping the government from enforcing watch list orders against her.

De Lima, already the DOJ Secretary then, had said that she ordered the Bureau of Immigration (BI) that the watch list will be enforced as the government has yet to receive a copy of the SC order then.

Senator De Lima also pointed to a lawyer of former President Arroyo and a “powerful religious bloc” who was also reportedly “angry” with her.

De Lima: I might be arrested anytime soon

By CNN Philippines Staff

February 9, 2017

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Senator Leila De Lima said she has received information from a reliable source that she might be arrested anytime soon as the authorities are allegedly fastracking the consolidated drug trafficking cases against her.

[Translation: The DOJ is planning to file it before a regular court so they can get the warrant of arrest.]

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre, meanwhile, said on Thursday the resolution on De Lima’s cases will be out soon. He said some cases will be elevated to the Ombudsman, while some will be turned over to the Regional Trial Court, which case can issue an arrest warrant.

Consolidated cases of drug trafficking were filed against De Lima by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC), former National Bureau of Investigation deputy directors Reynaldo Esmeralda and Ruel Lasala, the National Bureau of Investigation, and inmate Jaybee Sebastian.

Another case filed against De Lima is in connection with Kerwin Espinosa’s drug operations.

She said it will allegedly be submitted for resolution even if she has a pending petition with the Court of Appeals.

“So the case is submitted for reso without my counter affidavit kasi kinukwestyon ko talaga yung jurisdiction…Dapat idiretso ho nila yan sa Ombudsman and the Ombudsman will do its own prelim investigation,” De Lima said.

[Translation: The case was submitted for resolution without my counter affidavit; I’m questioning their jurisdiction, because it should be filed at the Ombudsman, which will do its own preliminary investigation.]

She has filed for an Ombibus motion to elevate the case to the Ombudsman, in order for the the DOJ to be barred from handling the case. She has yet to get a temporary restraining order from the Court of Appeals.

De Lima: Perks given to inmates who testified against me

The senator insists she is not involved in the illegal drugs trade.

She is even considering filing a case against Aguirre before the Ombudsman for allegedly protecting the drug lords who have testified against her at the House of Representatives.

The senator said she has received verified information about the privileges extended to them when they were brought at the AFP detention cell after testifying in Congress.

“I have proof na nung binalik na nila dun after they testified sa House, nirestore nila yung mga privileges, including the use of cellphones and other communication gadgets, dahil pangako daw yun ni SOJ sa kanila when they agreed to testify against me,” she said.

[Translation: I have proof that after they testified at the Lower House, their privileges were restored, including the use of cellphones and other communication gadgets. I was told it was the SOJ’s promise to them when they testified against me.]

Aguirre denied De Lima’s allegations.

He also pointed out her use of the term “restores,” which, he said, means the senator is admitting to wrongdoing.

“She must be referring to her stint as Secretary of Justice when such privileges abounded and were tolerated in the NBP,” he said.

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MANILA – Theoretically, Senator Leila De Lima is not immune from arrest if the Court issues a warrant on supposed drug charges to be filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ), Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said on Wednesday.

In an interview, Pimentel said that all senators including him and De Lima enjoyed immunity from arrest if the punishment on the case is not more than six years imprisonment.

“Okay, eto theoretical na lang, if a senator has a criminal case, a pending criminal case filed before the Prosecutor’s Office, before the court, the court issues a warrant of arrest, which involved imprisonment of more that six years, no exemption,” Pimentel explained.

Pimentel said that the Constitution does not speak of their exemption from arrest even if they enjoy some immunity and privileges under the law.

“But then even the privilege from arrest we do not enjoy if it’s beyond six years,” Pimentel said.

Pimentel further stressed that a senator cannot be arrested while Congress is in session.

De Lima confirmed that a warrant of arrest may be issued by a court against her for the drug charges, which is not bailable, to be filed by the DOJ before a regular court, and thus, bypassing the Ombudsman and the Sandiganbayan.

“Very possible. Kaya nga I need to tell you that because I’ve been receiving information also, credible information from inside DOJ, na binibilisan na nga daw, minamadali na yung resolution na yan,” De Lima said referring to the two separate cases against her.

“I’m sure they will find a way to make it non-bailable. In fact, they were emphasizing the drug trafficking angle yesterday (Tuesday) to make the case fully cognizable by the regular court,” she added.

De Lima was talking about the four consolidated cases, filed by Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) together with former National Bureau of Investigation officials Reynaldo Esmeralda and Ruel Lasala and New Bilibid Prison inmate Jaybee Sebastian, which were consolidated by the DOJ.

The second set of cases, De Lima said, was about the accusation made by Kerwin Espinosa against her regarding the drug payola and campaign funds she received before she ran for senator.

De Lima said that she has no immunity from arrest since the case/s that will be filed are for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act and the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

“Walang immunity. It is in the Constitution, I am sure of that. There is a minimum penalty and certainly itong mga so-called charges sa akin na drug trafficking kuno, violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act and Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act kasi mixed na cases yan,” De Lima said.

With this, De Lima expressed hope that the Court of Appeals will issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) questioning the jurisdiction of the DOJ over her alleged cases.

In her petition for prohibition and certiorari, De Lima urged the CA to stop the proceedings at the DOJ and nullify the actions of the panel of prosecutors which she said are tainted with grave abuse of discretion.

In her petitions filed last Jan. 13 and 30, De Lima noted the obvious bias of Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre as she sought the transfer of the cases to the Ombudsman, which has exclusive jurisdiction over cases against incumbent and former government officials.

“Well, I’m really hoping na makakuha na ako ng TRO. I already filed two motions, two successive urgent motions to resolve my prayer for TRO. Wala pa. Na-transfer na nga from one division to another yung kaso ko. Meron atang mga nag-i-inhibit na justices so I’ll wait for that eventuality and see what my lawyers can file again kapag nandyan na yan kapag finile na nila yung information in an RTC and then seek for an issuance of warrant of arrest. Non-bailable,” De Lima said.

She said that her legal team is already preparing for any eventuality, whatever would be the appropriate pleading to be filed, either with the Regional Trial Court, the Court of Appeals and even to the Supreme Court.

“So there are, I think, still available remedies but ang pinaka-tama sana is yung aksyunan na ng Court of Appeals yung two motions ko na to resolve my prayer for a TRO because I raised very substantive and valid grounds,” she said.

She said it is very clear under the Ombudsman Law and Sandiganbayan Law, and the Memorandum of Agreement between the DOJ and the Office of the Ombudsman that if one of the respondents is a public official whose Salary Grade is at least Grade 27, the Sandiganbayan has the primary jurisdiction. A Cabinet Secretary has a Salary Grade 31.

“The case would be under the exclusive jurisidiction of the Sandiganbayan. Kapag Sandiganbayan, Ombudsman dapat ang nagpi-PI, nagpi-preliminary investigation,” she said.